Does Serving Jesus Make You Weary & Afraid? (AM Sermon Notes)
GIST: There is hope for the weary and afraid because God is still moving...even when you don’t “feel” it.
SCRIPTURE: Acts 18:9-17
This morning we’re going to continue what we started talking about last Sunday evening. Paul has arrived in sin city — Corinth. Though larger even than Athens, it’s reputation was very different. It was known primarily for its debauchery. It was on a prosperous trade route, which brought all kinds of diverse travelers, and those travelers were met with a city devoted to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. We mentioned this last week, but the worship of Aphrodite here was headlined by her 1,000 prostitute-priestesses who would descend from her temple each evening, so the city could offer worship to the goddess through sexual immorality. It’s in this context that Paul started ministering alongside Pricilla and Aquila, a Christian couple who become lifetime companions of Paul’s. The city was stuck in sin, but that just made the Christians all the more intentional in their ministering together. Nonetheless, they encountered opposition— specifically from the Jewish synagogue. Paul then stepped away from them for the time being and went directly to the non-Jews. People we still being saved (even the leader of the synagogue itself), but there appears to have been open opposition, which you should expect from a city that had lived so long in opposition to what Jesus wanted for them. And that’s where this passage picks up. Though we’ll discuss through verse 17 this morning, I really want us to focus on these first three verses, 9-11.
“9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, "Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people." 11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”
Honestly, this passage has spoken to my heart a lot over the past few weeks. I needed to hear it. I love the life God has called me to. I love teaching. I love pastoring. I LOVE being a husband and dad. But it can be hard sometimes. There are only so many hours in a day and so many “things” I need to do in each one of them. If you feel overwhelmed this morning, please hear this: you’re not alone. Satan and your own sinful heart want you to feel isolated in your struggles like you’re the only one who could possibly understand what it’s like to experience what you’re experiencing. Yet, even in a room this size, there are people who understand your burdens. That’s why the body of Christ is so important. If we’re doing what we should be doing, we should be a family that supports each other even in the hard times. If you’re faithful in trying to serve the Lord with your time and energy, one experience you have in common with the rest of us is that you’ve hit the wall of weariness and fear. There is encouragement in this passage for you. So, here’s our gist: There is hope for the weary and afraid because God is still moving...even when you don’t “feel” it. Let’s break this down by looking at Paul’s context, the hope he’s presented, and how he reacts.
I. PAUL’S CONTEXT: AFRAID & WEARY (9)
The passage starts with “9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, "Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent…” Why did Jesus appear to Paul in this way and tell him not to be afraid and not to stop speaking? Because Paul was afraid...and tempted to stop speaking! We’re not told this beforehand. From just reading this account, we wouldn’t pick up on it, but Jesus saw what the world did not. All of this persecution that had become commonplace for Paul was nonetheless beginning to take its toll.
He Was Afraid. Can you blame him? Everywhere he went, people were trying to kill him. You’re probably not facing that today. Though for many of our brothers and sisters around the world, this is a daily reality. Still yet, you’re probably afraid of something right now. If not, you have been. We get scared when health concerns arise. We get scared when our finances fail. We get scared when our job starts making cuts. The list goes on. Yet, this passage is talking specifically about fear that comes when serving Jesus and telling others about Him, so I want to stay faithful to that. As Christians sent by God into this world, we get scared. Scared of rejection. Scared of not having the right words. Scared of not having enough time. Scared of Jesus returning and finding us doing… nothing. And this fear tends to paralyze. We’re so afraid, we don’t actually share the gospel at all. We allow this to become the catalyst for all our other excuses. The time just isn’t right. We’re a little too busy today. They probably don’t want to talk right now. We’re scared, so we...just don’t. Paul wasn’t just scared though.
He Was Weary. He was tired. Ministering to others takes it out of you. It can be exhausting. If you’ve been in churches long, you know that there is always talk of about 1% of the people who attend services regularly doing about 99% of the work. There’s truth to that. It shouldn’t be that way. The church should be serving as a united body with each using their gifts and time to serve this community for Jesus. Either way though, Jesus doesn’t tell Paul to have a pitty party because “he’s just working harder than everyone else.” He tells him to keep sharing, to keep serving. It’s so easy to allow weariness to rob us of the joy of serving. It’s so easy to allow weariness to turn into bitterness. It’s easy to live there, to serve begrudgingly. We’ll do it, but we won’t be happy about it. And if anyone complains well… You see where I’m going?
Fear and weariness can creep into the hearts of the faithful It seems to have crept into Paul’s. Yet, Jesus tells him not to be afraid and not to give up. He’s telling us the same thing. That’s the context of this passage. Let’s look now at→
II. PAUL’S HOPE: JESUS’ VOICE & POWERFUL PURPOSE (9-10)
There are at least three elements that make this vision encouraging to Paul, and they’re true in our lives, as well. First→
God Is Still Speaking To Us. Paul might have felt overwhelmed and isolated, but hearing Jesus speak directly to his heart made all the difference. The same is true in our lives. It’s easy to lose perspective in the midst of our discouragement, but when we hear God’s Word speak, it changes everything. I know you know where I’m going with this, but I can’t help myself. That’s why we have to be in God’s Word! The Bible speaks to our “everyday”. There is not a circumstance you could be going through that God cannot use His inspired Word to speak into. If you’re overwhelmed today by what is going on in your life, if you feel like you just can’t do it anymore, let me ask you this: how much time have you spent listening to what God says in His Word? If I tried to build a house by myself, it probably wouldn’t go well ☺️. But if I tried to build a house by myself and I never even thought of consulting the blueprints, it’d go even worse! There is encouragement from hearing God’s voice. Listen to Him. There is also encouragement in remembering→
God Is Bigger Than Our Circumstances. Look at the first part of verse 10: “10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you…”. This does not mean that God will never allow bad things to happen to believers, but He is always faithful. He’s using Paul to reach this city, so He tells him not to be afraid of physical attacks. God’s bigger than that. We need to remember this. We’re going to live on this earth until Jesus is done using us. In our current American mindset, that sounds so repressive. What if I don’t want to be used? What if I don’t like His plan? Then, you’re missing out on this beautiful truth. “28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). God gives us exactly what we would have asked for if we knew everything He does (Tim Keller). He has a beautiful plan, and we get to be a part of it! That’s encouraging. And lastly, there is this wonderfully convicting truth→
God Is Still Speaking To Others! Look at the end of verse 10, “10b...for I have many in this city who are my people.” Paul is told not to give up because Jesus isn’t done saving people yet! He’s still not. He’ll return when He’s done. The fact that He hasn’t means that there are people in this world who will be saved by His gift of Grace! He does the saving. We’re just His mouthpieces. But there are people who are lost and going to Hell that Jesus is going to rescue. Don’t give up! There’s something bigger than your weariness and fear—souls being saved!
This is how Paul is encouraged. Now, let’s close by looking quickly at→
III. PAUL’S REACTION TO HOPE: STEADFAST FOLLOWING (11-17)
“11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.” He Stayed, and He Kept Doing What He Was Called To Do...All By The Grace Of God! He didn’t just feel warm and fuzzy; he obeyed and stayed! It’s so easy to run away in ministry. If church doesn’t make you feel like it used to, if it’s harder, if it’s not always “fun”, it’s easy to just leave or step away. Don’t. Don’t let fear and weariness turn into selfish bitterness and rob you of the joy of being used by God to reach this broken world.
The rest of this section then illustrates how God moved and how he protected Paul even through secular governments. I won’t keep you long here, but I do want you to see the immediate effects of this encouragement.
“12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, 13 saying, "This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law." 14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, "If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. 15 But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things." 16 And he drove them from the tribunal. 17 And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.”
Here the hostile Jews are trying to take advantage of the new proconsul in town. It backfires though...pretty significantly. Yet, this man who is beaten in the streets is later mentioned in one of Paul’s letters as a fellow believer! God is faithful. He said He’d protect Paul. He said He had more people in this city. He doesn’t lie!
TAKEAWAYS
1. If you’re afraid and weary right now, don’t feel alone.
2. But don’t let these emotions rob you of the joy of serving Jesus!
3. Remember, listen to His voice as He speaks through the Bible!
4. Remember, He’s bigger than your circumstances!
5. Remember, He has a plan for others and wants you to be a part of their rescue!
No comments:
Post a Comment